Search

Extreme rainfall and temperatures are climate variables that threaten global water supplies and surface water quality (SWQ). To understand how rainfall and temperature interact with surface water quality and water treatment costs, this study, unlike previous ones, uses time series analysis (TSA) and water quality index (WQI) modelling to fill significant research gaps. The study uses data from the Barekese Water Treatment Headworks, Ghana. Water quality data from 2000 to 2019 for the Barekese Headworks were obtained from the Ghana Water Company Limited. Rainfall data for the catchment was obtained from the Ghana Meteorological Agency. The Mann-Kendall statistical test for trend and the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) water quality index was applied to data sets. The Mann-Kendall trend test showed no significant change in annual temperatures. An increasing trend for annual rainfall was observed, but this was not statistically significant (Z = 0.21). Sen's slope estimator (Q) showed that rainfall increases at 3.03 mm annually. pH correlated negatively with rainfall (r = - 0.15). Correlations were observed between rainfall and temperature and dissolved oxygen (DO), turbidity, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Nitrate (NO3−), Phosphate (PO43−), and Manganese (Mn). Rainfall was observed to increase the cost of liming, coagulation, and disinfection. A 20.26% deterioration in SWQ was observed from 2009 to 2019. The SWQ over the period under study and according to the CCME water quality index was 80% marginal, 10% fair and 10% poor. The findings reveal that the concurrent use of TSA and WQI modelling can help elucidate how rainfall and temperature interact with SWQ and water treatment costs. It further contributes knowledge to attaining the Africa Union Agenda 2063 on climate resilience and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 6 and 6.3 on universal water access and quality improvement.

Water quality index, ecotoxicology and human health risk models were applied to surface and groundwater samples along illegal crude oil refining sites in Rivers State, Nigeria. Eight (8) surface water and four (4) groundwater sampling points were identified along illegal refining sites. Thirty-six (36) samples in triplicates were collected monthly from each of the twelve (12) sampling points over a three (3) month period. Water samples were collected and analyzed using standard methods as prescribed by the American Public Health Association. The mean pH for surface and groundwater ranged from 5.61 ± 0.15 to 7.34 ± 0.10 and 5.80 ± 0.10 to 6.39 ± 0.13, respectively. Turbidity, TDS, and BOD data for surface water samples exceeded the WHO guideline values. The ionic dominance pattern of anions for both surface and groundwater water samples were the same and in the order Cl− > SO42− > NO3− > PO42−. Mean heavy metal concentration was in the order Pb > Ni > Fe > Cd > Mn > Cu for surface water and Pb > Cd > Fe > Mn > Ni > Cu for groundwater. Cd and Pb concentrations in both sources were generally high, with Cd exceeding the WHO guideline value (GV). The CCME water quality index model ranked 62.5% of surface water as marginal, 12.5% as good, 12.5% as poor, and 12.5% as fair. The impact of heavy metals on public health was in the order Pb > Cd > Ni > Fe > Mn, with 83% of samples seriously affected by Pb pollution. The potential ecological risk index ranged from 1.61 × 103 to 2.64 × 103 for surface water and 8.10 × 102 to 2.21 × 103 for groundwater. Heavy metal contamination was very high, and the ecological risk effect was extremely high. The health risk through oral ingestion was in the order of adults > infants > children. Two principal components, PC1 and PC2, explained 50.51% and 16.00% of the variations in surface water quality, respectively. For groundwater quality data, three principal components explained the observed variations in water quality data, of which 51.39% is attributed to PC1, 26.29% to PC2, and 16.58% to PC3.

This study investigated the effects of two mostly improvised chemical additives, calcium carbide and lambda super 2.5 EC (LSEC), on the physico–chemical and microbial characteristics of faecal sludge from toilets. The quality of faecal sludge was assessed before and after application of the chemical additives in an experimental setup of ten different treatment units including a control, and treatment replicates. The initial characteristic of the faecal sludge was slightly acidic with high content of slowly degradable organic matter. The experimental control without additives after 30 days showed reduction in BOD5, COD, helminth eggs and sludge mass by a maximum of 30%, 34.7%, 99.8% and 55% respectively. Similarly, calcium carbide additive reduced the BOD5, COD, helminth eggs and the mass of the faecal sludge by 47.4%, 48.3%, 99.6% and 61% respectively. Also, LSEC additive reduced BOD5, COD, helminth eggs and the mass of the sludge by 40.6%, 47.9%, 95.9% and 58% respectively. The two additives showed significant treatment effect on the faecal sludge although the level of treatment could not meet the regulatory discharge limits for the key quality parameters assessed including sanitisation. The study is still a grey area and more research is recommended to enrich the findings.

Adequate and improved sanitation solutions are crucial for the protection of public and environmental health. But Ghana continues to face serious constraints to meeting the sanitation needs of its rural and peri‑urban folks due to low uptake of household toilets. The key factors that have contributed to the low sanitation coverage in Ghana among others include: the extensive use of public toilet, poverty, lack of space, high cost of latrine technologies and operation and maintenance difficulties. In an effort to promote the uptake of household latrines by people living in the rural and peri‑urban communities, a new latrine concept was developed and tested. This new latrine technology is essentially a low-cost pour-flush system improved with high-density polyethylene (HDPE) barrel for excreta storage and porous filter plate for excreta separation for the purposes of resource recovery. This study examines the suitability of the low-cost modified pour-flush latrine (MPFL) for use in the rural and peri‑urban areas. In this study, a live-prototype of the MPFL system was built and tested in Donuase, a peri‑urban community in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipal Assembly in the Ashanti region of Ghana. The cost of the MPFL was assessed in comparison with three other existing and widely used latrine technologies in Ghana. The MPFL was also tested for its performance with regards to effluent quality and user acceptability. The study was conducted using laboratory analysis and survey questionnaires. The results showed that the MPFL actually provides a low-cost option to households by saving at least half of the cost required to construct any of the three other latrine technologies. This notwithstanding, with the exception of pH and turbidity, effluent parameters (total dissolved solids, chemical oxygen demand, biological oxygen demand, faecal coliform and total coliform) did not meet the recommended Ghana EPA standards permissible for discharge into water bodies although there were significant contaminants removal. Higher removal rates (97–98%) were recorded for faecal and total coliforms and fair removal rate (66%) for turbidity. The MPFL also received very high level of users’ satisfaction and all respondents were willing to pay for the system. Nonetheless, majority of the respondents offered prices that were lower than the cost at which the latrine was produced (GHS 560, US$ 140). Significant understanding is gained on how to make the MPFL system more attractive to potential users and ways to improve the effluent quality.

This study employed GIS tools to help optimise faecal sludge (FS) management in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) and its environs in Ghana. First, the rates of excreta generation, FS generation and FS collection were quantified based on literature, census and FS discharge data obtained from treatment plants in the study area. Next, we mapped the FS collection to the administrative areas in GAMA based on discharge records obtained from Lavender Hill, the main faecal treatment (FTP) and estimated the travel distance and travel time from the various FS desludging neighbourhoods to the plant. The results of the study show that the excreta and FS generation rates in GAMA are 604 L/cap/yr and 4,137 L/cap/yr, respectively. About 1 million m3 of FS was collected and treated in the study area in 2018, with a collection rate of 244 L/cap/yr. The private sector dominates this collection, haulage and treatment of FS in GAMA. The GIS analysis has provided fundamental data that will be useful in rationalising the FS emptying and transport cost in the study area. Moreover, it revealed that about 20–40% of the localities were outside the 15–25 km sustainable maximum transport distance recommended by some scholars. Finally, the findings highlight the importance of looking beyond administrative boundaries when planning for FS management logistics and infrastructure and also show that the most impoverished communities in the Accra metropolis may not necessarily be the least served when it comes to FS collection and haulage.

Knowledge of cost and effectiveness of Ghana's main hygiene promotion intervention (HPI), Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS), is critical for policy direction. Cost and resultant effect of HPI is examined using a case study of four communities. Surveys were conducted with 300 households, CLTS implementers and relevant agencies during the study period (May 2012 to February 2014). The HPI produced marginal but statistically significant effect (8%, p < 0.001). Improvement in hygiene behaviour was statistically associated with both government investments (p < 0.001) and household investments (p

Recently, there have been efforts by stakeholders to monitor illegal mining (galamsey) activities, foster their formalization and reclaim the many abandoned wastelands in Ghana. However, limited information exists on the locations, abundance, scope and scale of galamsey types, which hinders the development of effective policy response. This study attempts to map and analyze the distribution patterns, abundance, activity statuses and the extents of nine (9) galamsey types within eleven (11) Municipal and District Assemblies (MDAs) of Ghana's Western Region. It explores the utility of field-based survey, using the Open Data Kit (ODK) system, ArcGIS and Google Earth Imagery to map and visualize different galamsey types under a hostile working environment. A total of 911 galamsey sightings, of which 547 were found in clusters (corresponding to approximately 7106 individual operational units) and 364 in stand-alone mode. Overall, a total of 7470 individual galamsey operations were encountered in 312 different communities (towns and villages). Operationally, the Alluvial Washing Board, Mill-House and Chamfi were found to be the three most popular and practiced galamsey types. The three main galamsey hotspot districts (out of the 11) are the Tarkwa Nsuaem (294 sightings and 3648 individual galamsey sites), Amenfi East (223 sightings and 1397 individual galamsey sites) and Prestea Huni-Valley Districts (156 sightings and 1130 individual galamsey sites). In terms of their activity statuses, 199 abandoned operations (entailing 1855 individual operations), 664 active (entailing 5055 individuals operations) and 48 semi-active (comprising 560 individuals within clusters) galamsey operations were sighted at the time of the study. While galamsey is generally acknowledged to be widespread in Ghana, the results suggest a scale that probably surpasses any previous estimate or expectation. The findings will adequately inform the prioritization of reclamation efforts.